BMW plans to jack up US production

Automaker BMW AG hopes to increase the number of cars it builds in the United States by nearly 43 percent to more than 200,000 annually by 2010.

Speaking to analysts at BMW's headquarters in Munich, chief executive Norbert Reithofer said the aim was to reduce the company's exposure to the weaker dollar, a paramount move given that the U.S. remains BMW's top single market.

"We also have to buy more goods (in North America) to improve our natural hedging," Reithofer said.

BMW's annual production capacity at its only U.S. production plant in Spartanburg, S.C., is currently around 140,000 vehicles.

BMW's new X6 model will be produced in Spartanburg from 2008 onward as part of the company's effort to increase capacity in the United States.
(AP)